The rituals before a client arrived were practices burned into Jada's memory. The lighting of the candles, the kneeling in prayer, the tea, making the bed, even getting dressed - it was all a part of the same preparation ritual. Some of it she acknowledged, she even enjoyed too, but she was not as religious as some of the others, Jada simply did as was needed and expected so she could get to her favourite part of being a Companion. Sex was not what it was all about for her, but rather the listening part, active listening and then helping. Jada was good at it as well. It was why she was mostly sought out.

Her speciality was not unique, all Companions were trained to be what were called Psychologists on Earth-that-Was. The thing with Jada was that she was exceptionally good at it. Her insights were impressive and tailored for each Client for their needs and she did not shy away from telling them the truth. Jada delivered her advice in a way that suited the Client and they usually went away satisfied.

Of course sex afterwards never hurt!

So she came to the end of her current ritual looking calm and as beautiful as ever, dressed in a scarlet gown that was suitable to wear publicly on Osiris but also easy to remove with a simple pull of a ribbon. Jada was kneeling at the altar in her hotel room when there was a knock at the door. Slowly she rose and bowed respectfully to the altar (she was no fool either, she hedged her bets rather then letting her scepticism rule her heart and mind) then turned to go and answer the door. If it was her Client then he was right on time...

There have been a lot of changes recently in Captain Carmichael's life. Within the past couple of months he has gotten a new XO, , he has had some of his crew quit, and to top it all off he just received word recently that his mother had passed away. Needless to say he had a lot going through his mind these days, he was stressed though he wouldn't look it to anyone.

During one of his late nights in his cabin thinking through everything that has happened in the last few months something unexpected came to mind. He remembered that on one of the ships he used to serve on had a captain that got stressed a lot, and whenever he was stressed he went a saw a companion, or one would bring a shuttle to the ship for him. He had never hired a companion before though, he knew sort of what to expect but he was sure it was different than that in some way. All he knew is that the captain always seemed much better after hiring a companion, so he decided to see if it would help him too.

The Paladin was due to dock on Osiris soon so that was were he would try to look for a companion. Knowing the stereotype that is around hiring a companion, especially for someone like him he decided to try and find a companion that was located on the planet. He would leave his crew for just a little while while they were docked and return later telling them he had work to do somewhere. He got on his tablet connecting to the cortex and made the arrangements.

After an unexpected detour to the Skyplex where they picked up a hacker who instead of turning ended up being released off their ship, one more thing to stress about, they were headed to Osiris. Upon landing the Captain took care of all of the necessary jobs, the unloading of prisoners, assigning crew members to certain parts of resupply, and reporting to his superiors. Once everything was all set for them to leave next, he told the crew they had three days on Osiris and to all report back at 1200 hrs on the third day.

Finally it was time for him to do his own, private, business. He made his way to the location he had been contacted about wearing his usual casual clothes of a black tank-top with his black button-down shirt open, and a pair of jeans with black boots. He had briefly checked his mirror for any stray beard hairs and awkward nose hairs before leaving the ship. He was nervous, that much he couldn't lie about, he didn't know what to expect and he hated not knowing.

When he reached the room he cautiously knocked on the door, though to whoever was inside it sounded confidant. When the door swung open he greeted the woman standing behind it kind of awkwardly. "Oh, uh, good evening ma'am. Are you Miss Depont?"

Grateful that it was indeed her newest client Jada bowed a little, as was traditional, and gestured that the Captain join her in the suite. Usually Jada did not need to concern herself with the looks of others but it was not every day a captain such as this was on hers - or anyone's - Client list. Companions were expensive and the money needed to get on and stay on the guild's list was more than a typical captain could afford. Not that Jada questioned where the money came from, neither did she particularly care, she was simply curious now she was face to face with Caption Carmichael.

"Please, sit. Make yourself comfortable." She insisted, though gently. This was his first time so it was important to be as relaxed as possible as well as trying to figure out why he had come to her. Not just to a Companion, but why she had been chosen in particular.

Pouring him a cup of ginseng tea (that also acted as an aphrodisiac) she handed him the cup, Jada following the ritual exactly as she had been taught to do since she was a girl. The Companion had a very calm manner about her, though it went a little further than that, it was calming and happy. She loved her work, she loved meeting new people and helping them and it showed. She was just a very relaxed personality, someone who did not need to try to relax, it was rather a natural state of being for her.

"What brings you to this part of the 'Verse?" She asked, then added, "Apart from me, I mean." She did not bother with false pride, nor pointless humility. A Companion was someone in the upper echelons of society, no mere whore, thus she had every reason to believe that a client would journey across the 'Verse just for an appointment with her.

As the door swung open the captain could smell the candles or incense, or maybe even perfume, that swept through almost immediately, it wasn't a bad smell just a very unfamiliar scent. The woman standing in front of him now was likely half his age if not even younger than that, and he was unsure of how he felt about that. He couldn't remember what he had read about her before but was starting to wonder now if he should have put just a little bit more thought into choosing a companion instead of the somewhat hasty fashion he had found one with.

The woman was stunning, of that no one could deny, and she was wear a dress that the man was sure was easily removed for obvious purposes. The woman seemed friendly and welcoming enough but he believed wholeheartedly that she was not happy to have a much old man in her room at the moment and the implied interactions she would have with someone like him. He considered backing out now but he knew that he would only regret it, and it would not look good on him if he did such.

He entered the room and took a seat where she had motioned to as she started pouring tea, which he took with a small thanks. He started sipping the tea awkwardly, he was clearly out of place in the room as he sat as straight as a board in his combat boots and usual gruff resting face. "Osiris is a supply stop for us. It was suggested by some of my crew to seek...company... while we were docked" He replied matter-of-factually at first but drifted off awkwardly as he referred to her. He cleared his throat a bit before speaking again. "It has been very...stressful lately and I was told part of your profession is talking, and helping with...stress and emotions.." He hoped to sound more confident this time but that was immediately shot down as soon as his mouth opened. Why had he mentioned his crew told him this when they didn't even know he was here?

Carmichael considered leaving once more as the implications that a man such as himself wanted to talk about his feelings with a much younger woman hung in the air. He remembered how he spent a good deal of his saved up credits on this and that kept him seated. He wouldn't be able to go buy a ton of alcohol to relieve his stress if this didn't work so he tried to let himself sit a little less straight and make this work.

The tea would have a calming affect so Jada out the cup in his hands first and encouraged him to drink. Her hands lingered, covering his for a moment longer before she sat opposite him and knelt before the table. This was a part of the "ritual" that worked for Jada. The part that helped her get into the correct mindset. Meticulously she poured and then sipped her own tea before locking her green gaze upon him.

"I am a trained therapist, yes." Though when giving therapy to men like this she usually had a hard time getting through to them to begin with. Some had too much machismo that they had to deal with - taking advice or orders from a woman when it had little to do with sex was a hard thing to get their head around, so to speak! And some simply thought she was too young. Or looked she looked different to what they expected from a therapist. The thing was, if he just wanted therapy he could easily have paid much less for one on a Core planet. If he'd just wanted sex again he could have paid less elsewhere.

"What is it that you are truly looking for from this meeting?" She asked. Since he had paid for one long session she figured he wanted therapy or companionship or both. There seemed more to this than she could see though and that was both a frustration and an intrigue.

"Be honest. You are wasting my time if you are anything but..." It was not a warning, more like a piece of friendly advice. It was his credits (and reputation) he was spending, for if he did nothing with her Jada would report him. She was not a common whore who was simply happy sitting this one out and still getting paid. She loved her work and she wanted to help, so wasted time meant time taken from another.

After a few sips of the tea Jada had poured him Carmichael was feeling a bit calmer, his nerves were finally starting to settle down and he could think a little straighter. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous around this woman, she should have come off as far less intimidating as most of the men he dealt with on a regular basis. Maybe that was why he was though, she was so unlike everyone he saw, she was soft and patient and he was rough and to the point.

It seemed that she was running out of patience with him though, already. He had found his use of words before unfitting when talking about someone with status such as hers and she clearly didn't want to waste time with him if he wasn't serious. "You wanna know why I'm here, honestly? Because I'm tired of feeling like shit. We've had too much going wrong on my ship and I feel like I am failing my men as their captain. Because I've had a death in the family, and because I am tired of feeling alone with it all." He answered a bit gruffly but trailed into an almost sad tone, well for him anyways.

"I'm probably not like your usual clientele and my manners are certainly lacking from what you're used to and I'm sorry." He added after sipping his tea and feeling yet again like his appearance did not match the rooms.

Jada had intended the rattle him enough to get someone more than out of him but when she got what she wanted she felt wretched for it. Since he wasn't her normal clientele she'd thought to treat him differently but she realised now that it had been wrong to do so. Like any man or woman he needed a companion, especially when life was at such a stressful point with no way to alleviate that pressure. So she took his cup and placed it on the table then moved beside him. Without a word the Companion grazed his neck with the back of her fingers then cupped his face with the palm of her hand.

Jada was trained in many things, from dance and the flute to martial arts and languages, but the first thing most people would say when asked what a Companion was best at and the answer would be "sex". Though she was not as religious as some of her cohorts Jada was still very connected to the physical aspects of her work and she took it all very seriously. She knew how to combine her talents with the body with her talents with the mind but at first with this client she had been a little off target.

What he had to see, and see it soon, what that once everyone was stripped bare they were all the same. They were merely carnal beasts in need to a connection and a Companion was a way to have a meaningful connection that for whatever reason he could not seem to find elsewhere.

Gently she placed her lips on his, seeking to draw him out of himself and inside of her - both spiritually and physically

Carmichael felt odd after his slight outburst, he had no idea why he had just told this woman everything on his mind. It was all true of course, his mother had just passed away, his crew was suffering from a lot of set backs, and he was feeling like a let down for his crew, but those were not things he would normally be spilling out to anyone else. Perhaps he had felt guilty for wasting this woman's time, or maybe he just wanted to say it out loud so that it wasn't beating against his head driving him crazy.

He had waited quietly for Jada to say anything, but she never did. Instead she took the teacup from him and joined him on his portion of the seating. She brushed her fingers across his neck and cupped his face with her hand, and he found these actions to be calming in some way. The man was usually on a stick no-touching policy with almost everyone that he dealt with but not only did he not mind now, but he almost welcomed it.

He was taken by surprise when the woman suddenly placed his lips over his, it was an almost foreign feeling for the gruff man. At first he was resistant of the action but shortly he allowed himself to apply some pressure in return and even let his eye lids flutter closed a bit. Carmichael couldn't explain what was happening but for a moment his mind wasn't worrying about anything, not one problem came clawing at his thoughts. He allowed his left hand to come up off of the seat to hold her face lightly, almost as if he were afraid to touch her, as if he wasn't allowed to.

As much as the Companions Guild was not dedicated to whoring Jada was trained to be an expert in the arts of sexual pleasure and she was pretty damned good at it to. More importantly after his little outburst of words and connected emotions she realised this was the sort of man that needed to relax before perhaps being open to talking therapies. It was why she had taken that first step. Even if he had not come strictly for sex Jada knew that sometimes the path to what was needed had to be something physical. At the very least perhaps he would feel that he got something for the credits he had used to meet with her! That was the light-hearted side of Jada, the part of her that looked for the positives and enjoyed laughing about the cynical. Truly she hoped he got far more than just her body, but it was not up to her, not really. The Client usually led the way when it came to how the session went.

Though she would never let it be known Jada always found a way out of meeting with Clients she did not find physically attractive. It was shallow and went against the spiritual (and ethical!) teachings of the Guild but Jada was not exactly the most devout. Outwardly she seemed as much, but in her heart and mind she was found wanting. Thus, she had decided when she become a full Companion that since she would more than likely have to engage in sexual congress with these men and women at some point then she wanted to at least be attracted to them! Jada justified this to herself by asserting that if she was not enjoying herself then neither would the Client, however she knew full well they were supposed to look at the soul of the person, and not to focus on the physical.

Since Carmichael was a Client she found it rather easy to slip into the role of lover. The Companion did not try any tricks or moves on him, she did as she always did and was guided by him. If he'd not have responded at all then she would likely have tactfully ended the session and probably have him refunded some of his credits, but he did respond so the Companion was able to push a little further. Deepening the kiss and moving closer still she ran her free hand up his thigh. She was walking the line between teasing and being entirely forward, a line that Jada knew how to keep the right side of at the right time. The moment the Captain of the Paladin touched her in an even more intimate way Jada's hand would find flesh and - she hoped - hardness.

2517, The Unification War has been over for a decade and Miranda is still a secret. Into The Black is an Alternate Universe Firefly & Serenity fandom roleplaying game. It centers around independent crews of different ships which travel all over the 'verse created by Joss Whedon.